


different

by rosieryus



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, No angst in sight, barista yeri, coffee shop AU, cute and awkward, yeri is a hopeless romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24767530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosieryus/pseuds/rosieryus
Summary: yerim has a hopeless crush and sooyoung likes iced americanos (and maybe a certain starry-eyed barista too)
Relationships: Kim Yerim | Yeri/Park Sooyoung | Joy
Kudos: 42





	different

**Author's Note:**

> a lil drabble i wrote for my friend that she said was good enough to post so if this sucks u can blame her hehe

Yerim was a firm believer in love at first sight. 

Maybe it happened too often that her friends would often laugh it off, dismissing her feelings as a fleeting attraction or infatuation. 

But this was something else entirely. 

“You don’t get it, Joohyun. She’s  _ different.  _ When she entered the cafe, I swear the room brightened,” she explained, exasperated. She draped herself over Joohyun, a hand over her eyes as she sighed dramatically. 

“Yeri, I love you, but you say that every time.” She pushed Yerim off of her before continuing to aimlessly scroll through her phone. 

“I’m serious. She’s the love of my life.” 

“If you love her so much then why don’t you ask her out?” Joohyun asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Yerim froze for a moment, eyes filled with dismay. “There’s no way. I can’t.” 

“Then stop complaining, you dumbass.” 

“You have no sympathy for me, no  _ empathy. _ I can’t put up with these negative vibes all of the time.” 

“Honey, you are a negative vibe.” 

And that’s how Joohyun ended up with a pillow in the face while Yerim giggled trumphiantly. 

…

Yerim tapped her fingers on the counter, leaning her chin on her hand for support. She got stuck with the graveyard shift at the cafe, and it was so incredibly boring. She was the only closer, so that meant the rest of her coworkers had gone home. Seungwan had winked knowingly at her before she left, as Monday nights were typically when the love of her life liked to buy coffee. Or more specifically, an iced americano with a chocolate croissant. It was always the same order. 

She was happy she at least had some support in her unprevailing endeavor, but Seungwan  _ always _ embarrassed her. 

The first time was when the girl first came in. Yerim had been too nervous to remember to ask for her name, so she settled with writing “Joy” on the cup because it was how she felt when she first saw her. It was cheesy, she knew, but it fit. After handing it to her, Joy looked at her with an amused smile, and Yerim swore she felt her heart stop. 

She continued to observe Joy, noticing the way her lips turned slightly upwards every time she took a sip. She must really like iced americanos. She had brought her laptop with her, as she was furiously typing away. Yerim wondered what she was doing. Was she a student? Yerim had never seen her around campus before, but it was a big university. She could be a model, especially with that face and that body. She was drop-dead gorgeous. 

“Hey, babe,” Seungwan came up behind her, following her gaze. “Who’s that pretty lady?” 

Yerim bolted upright, so absorbed in her thoughts about Joy that Seungwan’s voice took her by surprise. “Joy,” she said dreamily. 

“Hey, Joy!” Seungwan shouted, waving at the girl. 

Yerim quickly clasped her hand over Seungwan’s mouth. “Stop, that’s not-”

Seungwan ripped her hand away. “Joy!” The customers paid them no attention, even with Seungwan’s crazy antics. Joy had looked up at her curiously before her eyes settled on the name on her cup. 

Her face brightened in realization before glancing back up at the two baristas. “What’s up?” She asked, her voice dripping in velvet. 

“This girlie here,” she wrapped her arm around Yerim’s shoulder, “was wondering if you wanted a treat on the house.” She grinned mischievously. 

“That’s very sweet of you,” Joy smiled. “Surprise me.” 

And so Yerim spent the next five minutes agonizing over her overwhelming embarrassment and what she should choose for Joy. What if she didn’t like what Yerim chose? What if she got upset over it? What if- 

“Yeri. I can hear your thoughts from here. Just pick something!” 

“Fine, okay,” she breathed out. She grabbed the last chocolate croissant, knowing that it was one of the cafe’s best selling treats. 

Yerim sauntered over to Joy, smiling brightly while setting the plate down on her table. “Hope you enjoy!”

“Thanks,” she smirked, reading the name off of her nametag, “Yerim.” 

Yerim felt her lungs collapse. Her name had never sounded so good. 

And after that, Joy always ordered a chocolate croissant. And Yerim always gave it to her for free. (Her manager didn’t have to know). 

The saga of embarrassment only continued. Whether it be over Yerim’s awkward attempts at flirting, or Seungwan blatantly insinuating that Yerim liked her. It was awful. Yerim thought that Joy would have gotten at least a little creeped out by now and stopped coming, but she always came back. 

“She obviously likes you too!” Seungwan had said while they were opening up the store. 

“No way.”

“She blushes whenever you compliment her.” 

“Maybe it was hot.” 

“She asks you about your day.”

“She’s just a nice person.” 

“You’re actually impossible,” Seungwan sighed, giving up and walking away to clean the tables. 

Yerim thought for a moment. Was it possible for Joy to like her back? It sounded impossible. This is often what she thought about when she was alone in the cafe. Her mind loved to daydream about potential dates with her, how it would feel to hold her hand, what she tasted like… 

She ran a hand through her hair, sighing. She wished she could get over her, but her ever increasing presence in the store just made it worse. She fell. Deep. 

Joohyun often asked her how she could love someone she barely knew. Sure, maybe her initial feelings for Joy was just infatuation. But as the months passed, Yerim began to notice the little things, and arguably, those were what  _ really _ helped you learn about someone. 

Joy never liked to use a straw with her drink. She took off the lid, mixed in two packets of sugar, and sipped until the liquid wasn’t threatening to spill over. Instead of eating the croissant bite after bite, she ripped it into pieces, setting them on a napkin and occasionally popping them into her mouth. She always did something different with her hair. Yerim had seen it straight, curled, in a bun, in a ponytail, braided… Whatever you think of, Joy has probably tried it. She liked wearing long, flowy skirts with a simple shirt tucked into it. Piercings littered her ears, and sometimes she wore a fake lip or nose ring. (Yerim especially enjoyed that look on her). 

She never came to the cafe before two in the afternoon. She worked out, since one time she came to the cafe in these tiny athletic shorts and tank top and Yerim almost fainted. Whenever she smiled, her eyes shone like faint moonlight. 

“Hey, Yerim,” a voice interrupted her thoughts. She hadn’t even registered the bell on the door sounding. She looked up, Joy standing right in front of her. 

“Hi!” Yerim replied, a bit too enthusiastically. “The usual?” 

“Yeah,” Joy nodded, “but I’d also like to order something else.” 

“What would you like?” 

“A hot chocolate and… you.” 

Did Yerim hear that right? “What?” 

Joy laughed. “Go on a date with me, right now.” 

“W-why?” Her brain could not comprehend what was happening. 

“I like you. You like me. Isn’t a date usually what follows?” 

“You… like… me?” 

“Do you have a problem with that?” 

“No!” Yerim rushed to say. “Of course not. It’s just you’re so amazing and pretty and beautiful and I’ve liked you ever since I saw you and I just assumed I would never have a chance with you and-” 

A thumb brushed over her lips, silencing her. “Just say yes.” Her hand traced the rest of Yeri’s jaw delicately, before she let it fall onto the counter. 

“Okay,” she agreed softly. 

“Perfect,” Joy smiled, her eyes shining. 

  
  


…

Yerim sat across from Joy at her usual table, placing the drinks and food in front of them. “The hot chocolate is for you, by the way,” Joy stated, leaning back against her chair. 

She felt red rise up her neck, staining her cheeks. She couldn’t come up with anything else to say other than a simple “thank you”. 

It was nice. Joy wasn’t a very talkative person, so Yerim filled in all of the gaps. She talked about some work horror stories, about her roommate Joohyun, about her major. Joy listened intently, and chimed in some stories of her own. She was an english major but liked to study style and fashion on the side. She mentioned that she used to work at a cafe where she grew up, but decided it wasn’t for her after a bit too many angry customers. 

“It’s funny,” Joy began, “all this time and you still haven’t asked for my name.” 

“I was too nervous,” she confessed, playing with the end of her apron. 

“How’d you come up with Joy?” 

Yerim didn’t want to say it out loud, but she couldn’t say no. “It’s how I felt when I first saw you…” 

“That’s so cute!” Joy exclaimed. “You’re so cute.” 

Yerim buried her face in her hands. 

“My name is Sooyoung, by the way.” She grabbed onto Yerim’s drink, taking a sip. “Hm. It’s sweet. But not as sweet as you.” 

Yerim’s face was burning. Partly because of the compliment. But it was also because the whip cream from the hot chocolate stuck to the side of Joy, no, Sooyoung’s, mouth and she was really resisting the urge to wipe it away. 

“You okay?” Sooyoung asked, holding onto Yerim’s hand and giving it a light squeeze. 

“Yeah,” Yerim choked out. Sooyoung narrowed her eyes. 

“Well… if it’s not too forward,” she turned away, not having the courage to face Sooyoung directly. “Can I kiss you?” 

Sooyoung leaned forward, a smile gracing her lips. “I’d love to kiss you.” 

Yerim leaned the rest of the way, connecting their lips together. 

She tasted like iced americano and whip cream. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!


End file.
